New Bike

I bought Jenelle a new bike at Goodwill last week. She was getting way too small for her other bike. She was also way too dependent on those training wheels. We raised her training wheels earlier this summer thinking that she would learn to balance. Jenelle wasn't too happy about that. She compensated by just leaning over to the right and rode on the one training wheel. Big mistake on our part! Yesterday we took Jenelle out on her new bike and she was leaning over the whole time. Jenelle did a fair amount of moaning, groaning and crying. Curt and I are going to try to get her on that bike every day. Pray for us! Wish us luck. I don't think this is going to be easy.

First Day of School - First grade

Today was Jenelle's first day of school. She is a first grader now. The summer seemed short. I don't think we're ready to start school. I know I'm not ready for the 8am start time. Jenelle was up early enough this morning, but she is my slow-mo girl. It just seems to take a long time to eat and a long time to get ready. I'm going to have to get super organized this year if we're going to get out the door on time.

Jenelle seemed fairly excited for school. She seemed most excited for recess again. I'm sure it will be a great year of learning and fun.

11th Anniversary in Pagosa Springs

Curt and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary by going to Pagosa Springs. We have never been there before and we wanted to check it out. It was a 5 hour drive, but it went by fast. Probably because I read a book the whole time.

We had the best time in Pagosa. We went on some beautiful hikes. There are a lot of waterfalls in the area. We did a hike every day. We spent an afternoon at the hot springs. Jenelle who likes everything lukewarm (her food, her bath) did really well there. She sat in some of the cooler pools and played around while Curt and I soaked in the hotter pools. We did a lot of fishing. Curt caught 3 trout that he cooked up on the grill for us. Yum! We attempted to go tubing, but the water on the San Juan was too low.

The campground was really nice. They had a lot of hummingbird feeders around. Jenelle and I loved watching them every day. We stayed in a camper cabin that was very reasonable priced. On our last night we discovered where they were hiding all the good restaurants (on the other side of town). We had a delicious dinner at a local brewery. We ate outside surrounded by aspen trees.

We plan on going back next year.

Triathlon

Well I did it. I finished my first triathlon. It was so fun. It wasn't so fun getting up at 4:15am, but the morning went by really fast. I carpooled with Chris and Anne. We found a place to put our bikes and then we checked out the course. It was easier than I thought it would be. The swim wasn't bad, but I kept getting bumped by other women. It threw me off quite a bit. The bike ride was really pleasant. A zillion people passed me, though. They all had fast road bikes. I was using my mountain bike. The run was tough. It starts out uphill for a long time. I don't enjoy running so I didn't train much for it. I was happy with my time of 2 hours 23 seconds. My friends and I were all happy with our accomplishment. I'm going to sign up again next year.

RMNP

Tubing fun.

You know how we went tubing in Steamboat and had a bad experience. Well, Jenelle has been saying how she doesn't want to go to Steamboat anymore. Curt and I thought it would be fun to go tubing down the Platte right here close to home. Jenelle was in tears about it. So as parents do we give in to those tears or do we make her face her fears head on and have a miserable time? Of course, we go tubing. The Platte is really low and slow right now so we thought it would be a good opportunity to get her back in the tube.

We start heading down the river and she is super nervous. She was pointing out every potential obstacle along the way. "ROCK!", she'd shout. It was driving me crazy so I started asking her about school.

"Who do you want for a teacher next year?"
"Mrs. Jennings."
"Why do you want Mrs. Jennings?"
"Because she is the duty teacher. Did you know you can't have school without a duty teacher?"
"I didn't know that. What does the duty teacher do?"
"She watches to see if any kids get owies on the playground."

Then we had a super long discussion about school supplies. Jenelle finally relaxed and enjoyed the ride. At the end she said she had a fun time. I still don't think she is going to want to go tubing in Steamboat, though.

Camping at Steamboat

We went up to Steamboat for the 4th of July this year. We shared our pop-up with Chris and Zack. Another family we knew stayed at the next camp site. Steamboat Campground is really nice. It's right on the river. All the kids had a fun time fishing. Curt was great with the kids. He taught Ben and Isaac how to fish and he untangled a lot of fish hooks.

We saw the Steamboat parade. It was hot, but the kids enjoyed it. After that we went for a short hike to fish creek falls. It was beautiful. The kids had fun playing near the water. We also hit the farmer's market. We bought the yummiest garlic bread. Too bad the raccoons got to it.

We went tubing, too. The water was a little high and a little fast. Jenelle was saying, "We're going to die", the whole time. Let's just say tubing was not her favorite part of the trip. On our last tubing trip we hit a big rock and got a hole in our tube. Jenelle and I were slowly sinking down the river. Jenelle hitched a ride with dad and I went down the river scraping the bottom. I got a few large bruises. I'm hoping the conditions will be a bit better later this July.

We went for a bike ride. We stopped and had lunch along the way. We discovered the best smoothie shop. We also saw the best fireworks show. Usually we watch fireworks at Clement park and they last for 10-15 minutes. The Steamboat fireworks lasted 25 minutes and they were huge. They lit up the whole mountain side. It was a really good show. We also saw a cattle drive. The cowboys on horseback lead steer down main street. It was so fun. The cows were making cow sounds and they were going all over the place. It was a unique experience that the kids really enjoyed.

We had a great time. I'm planning on doing Steamboat next July 4th!